ALEKSANDAR MITROVIC, and a calamitous Lewis Dunk own goal, finally got the Seagulls in a flap.
Brighton had put the champagne on ice as a win at newly-promoted Fulham would have seen them lead the Prem for the first time in their history.
The task seemed more than doable given that they were on a blistering club-record, nine-match unbeaten top-flight run.
The squeaky clean South Coasters had also let in just one goal all term before yesterday’s tie, on the opening day against Manchester United.
But first they had to get past lethal Serbian hitman Mitrovic who is on a warpath to prove he can hack it in the top-flight.
The striker burst Brighton’s bubble with his 100th time on target in the league before Dunk steered into his own net to put Fulham firmly in the driving seat.
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The visitors hit-back with an Alexis Mac Allister penalty after Bobby De Cordova-Reid appeared to have caught Pervis Estupinan in the box.
But the plucky hosts held on to earn themselves a deserved second win of the season.
On the day where ex-Fulham boss Parker was sacked from Bournemouth, it was a nice reminder to see how far the West Londoners have come under Silva, who was appointed in July last year.
Mitro, who was left wounded amid Parker’s reign the last time Fulham were in the Prem and only scored three times, has now already hit FIVE Prem goals under Silva.
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And you can see why fans were chanting “f*** off Scotty Parker, cos we’ve got Marco Silva” having only lost one so far this season.
Both side’s oozed sex appeal from the start with their swashbuckling, forward-thinking approach.
But it was Silva’s slick stars who conjured up the first real chance thanks to Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
The Jamaica forward flashed a menacing cross in front of goal, but Joel Veltman snaffled it up before Neeskens Kebano could make the crucial touch.
Mitrovic once again worked like a pitbull-terrier to break free and bulldoze down the left-flank – but let himself down with a tame effort at Robert Sanchez.
Brighton weren’t much better up the other end, with Pascal Gross linking up with Moises Caicedo to fire straight at Bernd Leno in a sleepy first-half.
But Craven Cottage went crazy three minutes after the restart as Mitrovic brought the game to life with the much-needed opener.
Andreas Pereira’s short corner was half-cleared and fell back to Kebano who pinged a cross into the box where the Serbian striker was on standby to poke it home.
Fulham were slowly building but nobody expected them to snatch a second quite so easily.
It started with Pereira again, playing in a low ball before Dunk stuck out a leg only to fire it beyond his own keeper on 55 minutes.
It would have been an epic goal for the Brighton skipper had it not been in Fulham’s net!
Referee Thomas Bramall who was on his Prem debut was welcomed into his new role with chants of “who’s the w***er in the black?”
And it’s safe to say the home fans and players gave him hell when he was forced over to the VAR monitor to check for a penalty check to Brighton.
De Cordova Reid appeared to have caught Estupinan in the box and after a lengthy review Bramall pointed to the spot.
Mac Allister stepped up and fired in a peach of a strike to get the visitors back in it and spare Dunk’s blushes on 58 minutes.
The Seagulls were feeling the heat and Sanchez hashed up a routine Pereira corner by palming it straight to Kebano who was inches away from gabbing Fulham’s third.
Potter had seen enough and hauled off Enock Mwepu, Pervis Estupinan and Joel Veltman for a Danny Welbeck, Tariq Lamptey and Kaoru Mitoma.
Pascal Gross came close later on but Tim Ream mopped up any damage from the German before he could tap in from close-range.
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The hosts survived a late onslaught as Deniz Undav wriggled into the box and rattled the post.
He was well offside in the build up and the hosts were left fuming the assistant didn’t raise his flag and instead gave a corner – but they held on.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
